It's The Thought That Counts
by CSIsnickers101
Summary: On Valentine's Day, Sara isn't in a good mood. Can Nick help make her feel any better?


It's The Thought That Counts

Disclaimer - I don't own anything.

A/N: I should probably stop apologising, but I'm going to again. I feel so bad for not writing and uploading anything in mouths. But I was doing my prelims, I have an excuse. However, the real exams are coming soon so I can't promise how much more updating I'll be able to do, but I'll try my best. Anyway, this is a little Valentine's Day one-shot to help me get back into the swing of writing. Sorry if I'm a bit rusty ;)

"Come on, Sar, cheer up. Think of it this way, after today it's over for this year," Nick shrugged sheepishly, trying to improve his colleagues' mood.

"Yeah, and then it's 364 days until this day comes back around again," she sulked.

"Wow, Valentine's Day really isn't your thing, is it?"

"Never has been, never will be," Sara huffed.

It was pretty fair to say that Sara had been in a bad mood the whole shift. From the moment she walked into the lab, she knew her mood was on a downward spiral. And it had been, rather dramatically. Fourteenth February had began like most other days; with a murder. But not any murder. Oh, no. This was a murder in a Valentine's Day suite at the Bellagio. Just the sight of the room had made her want to vomit. And to top it off, she had to work with someone she considered probably the single most romantic man in the lab. Nick. On normal days she didn't have a problem working with him, but today she knew she wouldn't be able to cope.

Everywhere they went, people greeted them with cunning looks with the occasion wink thrown in, wishing them a Happy Valentine's Day. They even received a wolf whistle and a "You go for it, man!" from some man at the end of the corridor as both CSIs entered the hotel room. People were uncharacteristically happy and cheerful for the time of night. Most of them were drunk, she assumed. Or had just got laid. Or both. And watching couples shove their tongues down each others throats was not how she planned her evening. Sara wanted the ground to swallow her whole.

She couldn't exactly pinpoint the moment in her life when she began to hate Valentine's Day with such a passion, maybe a part of her always had, but today, her hatred hit a new low. She would have rather been at home. That's when she knew it was serious. Sara had assumed she'd be fine, on the lead up to the day as shops stocked up on flowers, chocolates and teddies. She knew now she should have known better. She knew herself better than anyone else, as she'd always liked it, and should have known that her feelings towards Valentine's Day were based mainly around pity for herself. She'd realised that on the drive back to the lab when she'd zoned out as Nick told her some elaborate story about who he'd sent his first ever Valentine's card to.

Sara actually couldn't remember the last time she was in a relationship around the day when romance was celebrated. She figured it didn't matter much; if a person loves you at Valentine's Day, they love you all year round, right? Well, that's suppose to be the case anyway. And come to think of it, Sara just hadn't been in a worthwhile relationship at any other time of the year in a long time. She was an independent woman; she prided herself on that. She liked to make out that she didn't ever need anyone. But she's human. And a woman. There comes a time when even Sara needs to have someone special in her life. Anyone. The thought made her hate the day more for maker her so weak.

To Sara, Valentine's Day was the day that reminded her that she was alone, always was and always would be. At least that's how she saw it. No one wanted her, and no one would. So seeing so many happy couples, celebrating how in love they were, made her so unbelievably jealous. A quality she wasn't at all proud of.

Sara flopped down on the sofa as she and Nick entered the break room having decided they needed a break from there case and some coffee.

"Well, at least tomorrow is Friday, and maybe you can do something to take your mind off what a horrible day today has been," Nick suggested, trying to be helpful as he moved a chair from under the table and sat in front of her.

"Unless that something is sticking hot needles into my eyes it isn't going to help," Sara sighed, feeling utterly defeated and full of self pity.

"Nothing I'm going to say is going to make any difference, is it?" Nick shook his head.

"Nope, probably not," she sighed.

"Run it past me again why you hate Valentine's Day so much."

"Who said I hated it?" Sara questioned.

"Well you're not exactly its number one fan…," he countered.

"Yes, well, I'm not Hodges' number one fan either but I don't hate him," Sara replied matter-of-factly.

"Well, I just used my intelligence and cunning wit to come to the conclusion that you don't exactly wait all year for this generally celebrated day," Nick arched an eyebrow. "And somehow, can't possibly see how, I think I may just be right."

"Yeah, alright, smart ass," she smirked, mockingly passing a death glare his way. "But it's not that simple."

"Oh? So do you hate Valentine's Day or not?" Nick wondered, fearing confusion was fast approaching due to her cryptic answers.

"No, I honestly don't hate it, I just…"

"You could've fooled me," Nick shrugged.

"It's just… Urgh! It just annoys me so much. No, people annoy me so much," Sara exclaimed. "It's the people I hate."

"What's new?" he teased.

"But not just any people, it's the people who make such a big deal out of it," she continued. "That's what bugs me more than anything. Some people just go way over the top; I bet they take it more seriously than Christmas or birthdays."

"Oh, I don't know about that, Sara…," Nick tried to reason with her.

"But you've clearly not seen some of these people!" Sara interrupted. "They will happily walk right over you to get to the tallest cards or the biggest bouquet of balloons. And for what? It's just a way for shops to make money and for people to look and act even stupider. In my opinion, people have lost the true sense of Valentine's Day."

"Oh yeah? And what is the true sense of Valentine's Day?" Nick asked.

"Um, well… you know… it's, uh…," she stammered. "You know…"

"Yeah, I know, but I want you to tell me," Nick smiled devilishly, enjoying watching her stumble and stutter.

With a resigned sigh, Sara rolled her eyes, "Valentine's Day is about showing someone you love them."

Nick shook his head, acting disappointed, "There's more to it than that. Sure, that's basically it but it's more about reminding than showing."

"How?"

"Well, in most cases it's about reminding that special person in your life that they mean that much to you. It doesn't mean that you don't think about them or care about them for the other 364 days of the year, before you say anything, it simply keeps that love going, I guess," Nick stated thoughtfully. "Even married couples can't be all loved up all the time. Valentine's Day is the day when couples can remind each other why they're together, in my opinion anyway."

Sara just nodded, letting his words sink in.

"I know I'm old fashioned, but I thought that was what it was about," he added.

"I think it is, too. I totally agree. But that's different to what I was saying, that's not the part of Valentine's Day I ha… dislike," Sara smiled, hoping she'd got away with that last little fumble.

"Were you just about to say hate?" Nick pursed his lips to stop himself smiling.

Sara rolled her eyes, ignoring his comment. "Anyway, if that's the real meaning of Valentine's Day then why do some people -some men, should I say- think that it's all about spending money on extravagant gifts?"

"Sara, come on. Surely even you would except a lovely gesture from a guy you liked any time of year, let alone Valentine's Day?" Nick arched an eyebrow in question.

"What's that suppose to mean?"

"You're a woman," Nick stated as if that said it all.

"And?" Sara glared at him.

"Well, you'd have something to say if guys never even bothered at all," he continued.

"Yeah, maybe I would. But when they go over the top they might as well not have bothered," Sara tried to explain. "You'd go way over the top, wouldn't you? You're that type of guy, aren't you?"

Nick shrugged his shoulders. "So what if I am?"

"None of this is going to make any difference to you, is it?" Sara sighed.

"You can't tell me that you wouldn't appreciate it," Nick insisted.

"Of course I'd appreciate it, I'd appreciate anything anyone bought me. But I'd appreciate it a whole lot more if some thought was actually put into it," she countered. "If I was ever bought something on Valentine's Day by someone who supposedly liked me, if they liked me that much I'd appreciate it more if they bought me something that I'd actually like or want, not something I'm suppose to want."

"So what would your ideal gift be?" Nick wondered, beginning to form a plan in his head.

"Honestly, I'm not a fan of material things so a card with a meaningful verse would be absolutely perfect if I had to chose," Sara smiled.

"Technically, it's still a material," he smirked.

"I can recycle it," Sara pursed her lips.

"Fair enough," he gave up. "We're just going to have to agree to disagree then."

"I suppose we are."

"I'll get you some coffee," Nick sighed, standing up. "How do you like it again?"

"I like my coffee like I like my men… strong, sweet and very hot," Sara stated slyly yet casually, giving Nick an 'if you know what I mean' look and lightening the mood.

"Right," Nick nodded, blushing slightly. "I can… I can do that. Strong… very hot."

Later that day:

*Knock, knock.*

Sara reluctantly pulled herself off of the sofa, tearing her attention away from some forensics show she was watching, and went to the door to open it, half expecting someone to be selling some gimmick using Valentine's Day as the main selling point.

Instead, she was faced with a sheepish looking Nick.

"Hey," Sara smiled, looking and sounding confused.

"I bought you a card," Nick stated simply.

"I can see that," Sara said, still bewildered as she glanced at the average-sized card in his hand.

"But I couldn't just give you a card, no matter what you say, so I got you this," he continued, lifting the pot plant in his other hand slightly for emphasis. "And technically it's not flowers, it's a plant."

Sara pulled her lips into a tight line to avoid grinning at him. She failed. As soon as Nick caught a glimpse of her gap-toothed grin he knew he had her, hook, line and sinker.

"Too much?" he asked, just to be sure he was reading her right.

"No," Sara shook her head, still smiling. "It's the thought that counts."

Thank you for reading. Hope you enjoyed it. In the end I think it lost it's main point but hopefully you can see what I was trying to get at. Oh and a big thank you to Giulietta Marescotti for her help with this. And I'm sorry it's a bit late… Reviews would be lovely.


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